Travel Biography - Week 112.

Miscellaneous Attractions in New York.

Like I said earlier if you're enthusiastic about ancient history and archaeological sites, there are better places to go to than New York. However, I saw that there were three factors connected with the Big Apple that is respectful to nature. One is the abundance of man-laid parks, including Central Park which is the main lung of the city. Although these parks - Central Park, Madison Square Park, and even Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronz are "artificial" rather than remnants of virgin land, there is one area of the original forest - the Thain Family Forest - found within the boundary of the Botanical Garden, is left as a remnant of the forest that once covered the whole of Manhatten Island and its surroundings. The Bronz River flows through this small patch of forest. This gives a microscopic impression of what the whole of Manhatten Island must have looked like before the European settlers arrived in the 1600s.

New York Stock Exchange.

The Federal Hall.

Wall St leading to Trinity Church.

Night View from the Empire State Building.

However, as New York lies in a cooler climate belt than Southern California and Florida, therefore these green areas lack the palm trees and subtropical vegetation so abundant further south and so endearing to me. This is ironic, as New York lies 40.73 degrees North, which is compatible with Madrid, which lies 40.16 degrees North, or Naples in Italy which is 40.09 degrees North. Yet, such subtropical vegetation thrives abundantly on all the lands surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Palm trees are even found in the southwestern peninsula of England, especially in Cornwall (50.17 North.)

Yet, New York, on the same latitude belt as the Mediterranean, is deprived of such vegetative covering. Thus, Europe (including Britain) and the Mediterranean have the advantage of being at the receiving end of the warm Gulf Stream. Unlike New Yorkers who tend to have bitter-cold winters, over here in the UK, we're less uncomfortable with milder winters.

The third factor I love about New York is that the city is surrounded by abundant water. The Hudson River, to the west of Manhattan, and the East River both open to the Upper Bay, a large inlet of the North Atlantic Ocean. However, unlike off the coast of Queensland, there are no coral reefs or any spectacular marine phenomenon worth diving or snorkelling over with an underwater camera.

Despite all that, I found some interesting places worth visiting, especially in the southern tip of Manhattan, across the East River and into Brooklyn. I mentioned the New York Stock Exchange a couple of weeks ago, and I visited the public gallery to watch the hectic trading taking place. Near to it, is the Federal Hall, a very handsome building designed after an ancient Roman temple. One pleasant afternoon, I sat casually among others on the steps leading to its entrance. However, I entered the building to see that it housed a museum on the history of New York. The entrance was free.

I found it interesting to learn that geographically, Manhattan Island was slightly shorter in its former natural state than at present, as Battery Park was reclaimed from the sea before Castle Clinton was built. Its original name was New Amsterdam before the Brits came in the 18th Century and the name changed to New York. The growing city was the capital of America until 1790 when the status was transferred to Philadelphia before being transferred again to the present Washington District of Colombus. These historical facts I learned while I spent an afternoon inside the Federal Hall.

Inside the New York Natural History Museum.

Natural History Museum.

Fifth Avenue.

Statue of Prometheus, Rockefeller Building.

On another day, after a lie-in at the hostel dormitory, I went to visit the New York Museum of Natural History on 8th Avenue facing Central Park and nestling between 77th and 81st Streets, I believe it's the largest museum of any kind in the world. The entrance wasn't free, but instead, I had to queue up to pay my fee at one of the kiosks. The museum was so huge, with so many galleries, that I selected one or two to give my attention. The most popular gallery housed the bones of Dinosaurs, and here was where the crowds were. The exhibits were more bipedal carnivores than the sauropods. When I took photos of the exhibits, someone unintentionally photobombed, so I covered his face before publishing it here to hide his identity on a public website.

I reached the marine gallery before the museum closed for the night. I had one regret. I arrived so late in the day, as it was already afternoon before I entered. But at least I got to see the most famous gallery. But even if I managed a whole day there, I wouldn't have got around to seeing all of it. Instead, I would have prioritised according to the level of interest. For example, prehistoric life, including marine fossils, would have come before present marine creatures, although I would have preferred to see them alive in an aquarium. Stuffed mammals and birds held little interest to me personally, and had the announcement come for the museum's closing before I got to those galleries, I would have left with little or no regret. Probably, this was an advantage of being alone. Had I been with someone else, chances were that he would have been excited over the sight of stuffed birds, rhinos and even elephants. In that case, I would have preferred to visit the zoo.

Another building I entered was Macy's, the New York branch of the store was the world's largest hyperstore, again of any kind. While I was in the store, I made a comparison with Miss Selfridge in London's Oxford Street. Although the latter wasn't as huge, it had a far greater variety of merchandise catering to the home. By contrast, Macy's was a clothes store, selling every garment ever thought of. There was even a whole floor dedicated to clothing babies and young children. Except in the basement. Here, the floor was taken by a display of ebony black grand pianofortes. Like all the clothing on display above, each piano was waiting for a buyer. However, where each garment demanded a few dollars each, each piano demanded thousands of dollars, I saw as I wandered around.

Pier 17.

Jefferson Market Courthouse, Greenwich Village.

Brooklyn Bridge Boardwalk.

At Brooklyn Esplanade.

It amazes me to see that when it comes to superlatives, New York City remains the record holder. I know of at least four largest buildings in the world, and I have been in each of them - the HI-AYH hostel, the Empire State (until 1970), the Natural History Museum, and Macy's.

Walking along 5th Avenue, where all the banks were, I also arrived at the Rockefeller Center with its decorative patio. Indeed, this too had a viewing gallery, known as the Top of the Rock, 260 metres high on the 69th floor. But I didn't go up after having been up to the Empire State Building viewing gallery which was higher. However, I had to admire one of its art displays, the statue of Prometheus in its golden finish.

Another area I visited was Greenwich Village, located on the Lower West Side of Manhattan. South of 14th Street, the street layout loses its symmetrical grid pattern characteristic of the rest of the city. It was in one of its residential streets where I called up to someone leaning out of the window while he was celebrating France's win in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final. That was how I found out who won the tournament.

The town plan of Greenwich Village was more like London than Midtown Manhattan. The buildings here were generally lower in height and there were no skyscrapers in the vicinity. The only building here worthy of attention was the Jefferson Market Courthouse with its clock tower dominating the local skyline.

A Walk to Brooklyn.

More than once I crossed the East River on the walkway above Brooklyn Bridge, a wonderful feat of civil engineering. Hence, the views of Manhattan with its Twin Towers along with Brooklyn on the other side, were enhanced from the boardwalk. The lane was also a cycleway where a rider could cross without entangling with motorised traffic.

Over the bridge, once I walked past the headquarters of the Watchtower Society, the coast of Brooklyn I saw was lined with derelict docking and loading piers. However, despite its dereliction, nature has taken over, greening over the structures and toning down the ugliness of the neglect to impose its own version of life, even restoring an element of beauty-for-ashes. 

However, in Fulton Street Mall in the centre of Brooklyn itself, a large, brightly coloured 2nd floor of a two-storey building with the logo, Brooklyn Dentalcare sat on the 1st floor, occupied by a Pizza restaurant, declared that anyone in view with a toothache is welcome to visit. Fortunately, at the time, my teeth were fine. Had they not been, I wondered what exorbitant price would be charged for a filling here in America. Not to mention the more complicated procedure of root canal work, something that I had to have done in my mouth more than 25 years previously.

Also in Brooklyn, I passed the statue of Henry Ward Beecher, a charity worker and like William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson, Beecher was also involved with the abolishment of negro slavery. The statue stood in a wide open space which wasn't far from the Borough Hall. But the main shopping street of Brooklyn was Montague Street, Brooklyn Heights.

The Derelict Dockyard, Brooklyn.

The Borough Hall, Brooklyn.

Statue of Henry Ward Beecher, Brooklyn.

Fulton Street, Brooklyn.

Brooklyn was more sedate than Manhattan with hardly any skyscrapers. Like in Greenwich Village, the buildings making up the town looked more like an English city than an American one, except that all the streets were straight, but the town layout consisted of several small symmetrical grids laid at different angles to each other. The people here seemed to have a more relaxed attitude and not so much of a hurried pace.

In Conclusion...

My 1998 stay in New York consisted of visiting three distinct parts, Manhattan, the main city where my hostel was located on Amsterdam Avenue and West 103rd Street, the Bronx, northeast of Manhattan and home of the New York Botanical Garden, and Brooklyn, south of Manhattan. In all, I enjoyed visiting the area, despite that I have always believed that backpacking is more to do with nature hikes and, in my case, marine snorkelling. But I have found that city breaks could be equally exhilarating, providing that I knew how to take care of myself and watch for any potential threat of harassment, especially from aggressive beggars.

No city is without public parks and gardens, and no intelligent planning would shut nature out from urbanisation. The huge area of Central Park has plenty of variety, and it took a full day for me to check out the park thoroughly. Likewise, the NYBG featured a remnant of the original forested land before New York was ever built, with the peaceful flow of the Bronz River adding to its beauty and serenity.

In all, visiting New York in 1998 was the right decision.

But the holiday was far from over. After nine days, I didn't head for the airport. Instead, I made my way to the Port Authority Bus Station to prepare for a 216-mile Greyhound Americruiser journey to Boston, Massachusetts, for a five-day stay at the HI-AYH Boston.

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Next Week: The Journey to Boston.